Frederick County board agrees to advertise proposed tax rate of $0.48; capital cuts and timeline outlined

The Frederick County Board of Supervisors reached a consensus at a work session to advertise a proposed real-estate tax rate of $0.48 per $100 of assessed value as part of its budget calendar; the advertised rate can be lowered after public hearing but cannot be raised without separate advertising, staff said.

County administration presented updated capital adjustments and a five-year capital plan used to model the budget scenarios that produced several candidate advertised rates. The administrator described reductions of roughly $3.4 million in county capital requests compared with an earlier draft and identified transportation and school capital transfers that staff treated as adjustments in the revenue model.

Board members heard that key items removed or delayed in the county administrator's adjustments include the Charlestown Road Park development (previously listed at about $2.8 million and tied to a federal grant and local match), and a smaller adjustment to Sherando Park parking-lot funding that staff said can be covered by proffers rather than tax dollars. The administrator said the capital fund adjustments reduced the county-side capital request to about $3.9 million in the model presented to the board.

Staff walked the panel through assumptions used in four illustrative tax-rate scenarios (including revenue-neutral, 0.47, 0.48 and 0.51 per $100). The scenarios factored in a $7 million reclassification of transportation costs to capital funds, a $3.9 million county capital package in the model, a contingency of about $3.1 million tied to a 4% pay increase (approximately $2.8 million), and a proposed new-positions cost around $1.6 million.

The board discussed the timing and legal requirements for advertising and adopting a tax rate. Staff explained the calendar that drives mailings and hearings and said April 28 is a critical date for finalizing bills; to give time for public input the administrator recommended advertising a rate now and using the March public hearings to adjust downward if desired. County staff also pledged to craft ad language clearly stating that the advertised rate is subject to public hearing and may be lowered.

Supervisors debated several advertised-rate options, including 0.47, 0.48 and 0.51; the board coalesced around a consensus of 0.48 per $100 to be advertised, with a March public hearing and the goal of adopting the final budget in April. Staff said it would prepare the ad language and work with the local press to ensure the public understands the advertised rate can be reduced after testimony.

What’s next: staff will prepare the newspaper ad and supporting materials (language to clarify that the advertised rate can be lowered), post the proposed rates online, hold the public hearing in March as scheduled, and return to the board for the budget adoption vote in April. The administrator said staff will also incorporate updated school figures once the school board finalizes its numbers and will circulate revised spreadsheets to supervisors.